GM adds ‘Spark’ to Eastern Cape volumes

Investment by General Motors South Africa (GMSA) is set to boost freight volumes through the Port Elizabeth ports and the rest of the freight industry. GMSA has announced that it will be building the new Chevrolet Spark at its Struandale Plant in Port Elizabeth from 2012. This is in addition to the new generation Isuzu KB and Corsa Utility, in order to hit the 50 000 a year export target to qualify for government support under the Automotive Production Development Plan (APDP), according to Edgar Lourencon, president and managing director of GM Africa. The Spark, which was launched in South Africa in August this year, is currently imported from Korea. Local production is set to commence during the first quarter of 2012. GMSA will assemble around 15 000 Sparks per annum, with half destined for export markets. The company also announced an agreement with Isuzu Motors Limited of Japan to expand exports of its Isuzu light commercial vehicles in sub- Saharan Africa beyond the current export markets of Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi and Mauritius. The Isuzu export contract together with the new Spark export contract is valued at over R1.5 billion per annum. The increased production will boost both imports of components and exports of fully built up vehicles by sea or land from GMSA’s vehicle distribution centre in Port Elizabeth. Lourencon said that there were opportunities in the short to medium term to expand export markets for the new Spark and Isuzu KB. “The expansion of export markets for these two vehicle programmes is however dependent upon the ability of the South African motor industry to improve its overall competitiveness. The recent labour disruptions in the automotive and components industry and the associated increases above the rate of inflation will require that a concerted and joint effort is undertaken by industry, the union and government to significantly improve productivity levels in order to reverse the current very negative trend,” he said.